California Country parkrun

This parkrunday I have visited California Country parkrunday for the first time. In Berkshire, not on the US West Coast, and the wonderful weather of the day made the luxuriously green woodlands feel as appealing as what could I waited for me on the other side of the Atlantic.

That said, a US parkrun could have fit with my recent unusual parkrunning history. I could not believe it when I noticed on parkrun eve: this visit was going to be my first UK event in a month. My last domestic parkrun was new(ish) ARU Writtle parkrun in March. After that, work and holidays brought me to three different countries: Sweden (Bulltofta parkrun), Italy (Terme parkrun) and Austria (Innpromenade parkrun). All wonderful in different ways. International parkrunning is always a great experience! But that’s only 3 events: yes, I am guilty of missing a week. Absolutely shameful and unforgivable, I did not wake up. I will have to atone.

When choosing the event to visit this week, I noticed California Country parkrun would be celebrating their 300th event, something I had not ticked off yet for the Centuries challenge. I need to more than such a feeble excuse to pick a new venue, especially since the course looked very interesting and I had not been in Berkshire since my visit to Bracknell parkrun at the end of 2025.

Anyway, enough with my rumblings. It’s time to dive into some more info about California Country parkrun!

Trip to California Country parkrun and parking

California Country parkrun take place at California Country Park, in Wokingham, Berkshire. The park is a beautiful nature reserve combining bog land, a beautiful lake and areas of wild(ish) woodland, alongside a modern cafe, sports facilities and a sizeable children play area.

Looking at the public transport section of the official event site, there is no mention of a train station to reach the venue. Reading station or Wokingham station are nearby options. The former is also served by the Elizabeth Line if you come from London, the latter would apparently be the best option for me, using Southwestern Railways from Wimbledon. From either station, you would need to take a bus, alighting at Nine Mile Ride.

If driving, Berkshire is well served by major motorways and, at least for me, it was only a 10 minutes drive from the time I started navigating local roads. As I was driving through, I missed the sudden right turn into the Country Park. The postcode above however, works well to get you there, so it was just my bad. Pay a bit more attention when you are close to the destination.

As you enter the park, drive a short while and you reach a large car park. This is not the only one in the Park, a sign suggested I could turn to reach one probably closer to the start but further away from the cafe. The car park where I stopped did not show options to use apps, but machines accepted touch and Apple Pay. I think I saw machines in a nearby car park showing app options, so paying that way might be possible. Parking here was not cheap, especially if you want to stay a bit longer than the minimum necessary to run and get a quick coffee.

California Country parkrun: start and briefings

The meeting point is a bit of walk away from the car parks. According to the official event site, it’s about 800m away from the one closest to the cafe (where I parked) and 600m away from the other one. Toilets are also by the cafe, a short additional detour from the former. So, bear in mind you will have to walk around 10 minutes from there.

As you leave the first car park, handy arrows will get you to the meeting point. Reach the lake, turn right, follow the lake before turning hard left and crossing a little bridge. From here, climb a little hill and you will reach the opening where the meeting point is.

On the day I visited, the RD delivered both briefings: as always friendly, enthusiastic and informative. Once it is time to go, everyone lines up by expected pace along the paved path, facing away from the car parks. It is a well attended event, so lining up might take a couple of minutes. When I was there, the team called for the starts when the last 20% was still walking towards their spots. Not a big deal, but unexpected.

It was time to go.

California Country parkrun course review – star ratings

California Country parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 234 parkrunners on the day of my visit to California Country parkrun. The meeting point is in a narrow(ish) but long clearing, with decent enough room for people to spread around. It did not look busy until a few minutes before 9am, when most people started arriving, this is one of those last minute events. There were a few tourists and first timers, but it was a minority. As also seen by the consistent field size, this is a stable local event, with an excellent field of returning local or regional runners. Average fields are quite consistently in a 200-250 range: not huge but subastantial. The out and back portion makes attendance look larger, but paths are wide enough to allow bigger fields without issues.

The event does not feel busy, but well attended. After the slightly rushed start, there were no areas where field size affected the run. The out and back section comes late enough into the event that the field has spread around enough to avoid bottlenecks. And paths are relatively wide and straight at that point too. At the end of that segment, a 180-degrees turnaround point around a cone might create a choke point, but you will get past it quickly. Conversely, the earlier woodland section is on narrower paths with trees and roots and that’s the only bit where overtaking might occasionally require a bit of attention.

Surface-wise, this is a mixed route. Most of the out and back straight is run on good paved paths. These are smooth and level: according to the official event site it is a resin made up of mixed recycled materials that is good for road shoes, but too soft for heavy spikes. The woodland section is trails, with plenty of rocks, roots and narrow points. I am pretty sure it can get quite muddy in winter, but when I visited it was very dry and a pleasure to run on. Trail shoes seem to be recommended during winter or prolonged dry spells.

In terms of elevation, the 25m of elevation gain over 1.5 laps, this is definitely a flattish event. I wrote ‘ish’, because since this is a route designed around a natural area, there are plenty of little ups and downs, but they are never long or steep. More of a natural profile, rather than an artificial flat one. There is one steeper hill, but it is very short. The long straight is on a long, light downhill on the way out and you will need to climb back afterwards. That said, I did not suffer it too much. Twists and turns are going to be the main factor stopping this route from being a PB candidate, not elevation.

In terms of course layout, California Country parkrun is made of three distinct sections. It starts with a trail woodland loop. Then it transitions into a straight out and back that turns into a short segment on hard paths bringing you back towards the woodland loop. You run that bit twice before reaching the finish funnel.

A quick Relive route plot is on my YouTube Channel, with longer video highlights embedded below.

As said before, everybody is expected to seed by expected pace before the start. And the countdown came when the back half of the field was still walking around the divider rope. That meant there was no real slow start for me, because I probably got going 10/20 seconds after the front of the field did. The first segment, going away from the start line in the opposite direction from the lake and car park, is on a good paved path, straight and flattish, siding the field where the meeting point was. As you get away from the field, you start having mature woods on both sides and it is soon time to turn 90-degrees right and head towards the woodland loop.

Once you are in the woodland loop, you start running on a narrower, trail path. It is full of twists and turns, with several spots by big trees and quick turnarounds. It is a lot of fun, with mature trees, shade and a lot of changes of perspective. At the end of this segment, you get to another tight turn, which will get you back towards the meeting point. After this turnaround, another gentle left turn by a cluster of volunteers gets you onto the actual straight where the start line was. Keep going for about 200m and you will reach the start line and finish funnel. Pass them by the first time and keep going, this time towards the lake. Shortly afterwards, the straight becomes a stee(ish) but short downhill. Enjoy it and then turn 90-degrees left. After a short while, turn again slightly left and you are on the long out and back straight.

This is long. Flattish and relatively straight, with just enough light turns to mean you don’t really see the end until you are nearly there. Several times I thought I was next to the turnaround but I was not. There are times when you can take quick peaks at the lake on your left, but they come and go fast, there is no real lakeside segment here. Eventually you reach the turnaround and it is time to head back in the same direction.

This time, however, you will not go back all the way to the end of the segment. A short distance before the steep downhill that got you down here you will turn left and take a new traily segment heading you back up parallel to the finish funnel straight. This is another beautiful segment under trees that will eventually lead you back towards the initial woodland segment. Once you reach it, run it once again.

As you approach the finish funnel a second time, this time you are allowed to run through it and back in glory!

Congratulations on completing California Country parkrun!

Facilities at California Country parkrun

California Country Park is a large nature reserve surrounded by large boglands. It is a beautiful green area with a small lake as focal point. Having visited it in the middle of spring and on a nice weather day, it is beautiful. Green, luxurious, offering a good spread of views and areas. Near the lakeside cafe, there is a large children play area, while on the other side of the parkrun look there are several sports courts.

Jackson’s Cafe sits as focal point by the lakes, next to a large car park and on the opposite side of the lake from California Country parkrun meeting point. There is a good number of outside tables, complemented by several picnic tables peppered around the lawns around the cafe and by the lake. The actual cafe building is not huge, but it offers a good spread of savoury and sweet options, with cooked dishes available too.

Toilets are in a separate prefab block just after the cafe. Decent size, relatively clean and open early enough before the event to allow a quick visit before walking to the parkrun meeting point.

As a competitor to the McDonald’s index, I am continuing to collect data for the parkbreakfast index: how much is breakfast at each location?

At California Country parkrun, I ordered a lemon San Pellegrino soda, a lemon slice and an espresso. This cost me approx. £8.5, slightly above the usual prices these days.

California Country parkrun: Video Highlights

As usual, I’ve taken a few video snippets during the run to give an idea of the course. If you like it, please subscribe, it’s a fun past time for me 🙂

The other parkrun videos on my YouTube channel are all linked on the course review and video highlights summary page.

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Achievements and performance

Conclusions

My first true spring event in the UK brought me to California Country parkrun. A beautiful flattish, diverse run through a woodland nature reserve. The course is not excessively quirky, but it is different. A combination of a twisty and turny woodland segment and a straight out and back.

It was fun and I really enjoyed it. Whimsical forest trails is probably a good way to describe then. It is not around the corner from me, but close enough that I might come back, if I ever get back to decent running shape.

Finally, obviously, thank you, California Country parkrun team for your hospitality!